Longoria provides hope, Lobaton gives Rays life

Published: Monday, October 7, 2013 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 12:09 a.m.

ST. PETERSBURG - Evan Longoria provided the Rays a pulse in their ALDS against the Red Sox.

But it was Jose Lobaton who gave Tampa Bay the most important gift of all.

Life.

And so Tropicana Field won't be dark tonight. More than 33,000 once again will pack the place, screaming and yelling and screaming some more, exhorting on their Rays as they attempt to drag this series back to Boston.

It was a stomach-jumping, breath-halting four hours, 19 minutes of baseball that showed our National Pastime, when played as it was played Monday night, takes a back seat to no other. And it was in that 259th minute that Lobaton cracked a two-out Koji Uehara offering into the right-field stands for a Rays' come-from behind 5-4 victory.

“We never give up,'' Lobaton said.

Life.

“That ranks right up there,'' said Rays manager Joe Maddon. “Really an incredible day for the Rays.''

Where to start? Anywhere would be fine. A 3-0 Red Sox lead became 3-3 on Longoria's three-run fifth-inning homer, the Rays' third baseman becoming just the second player in major-league history to hit a postseason home run on his birthday, and no doubt the first to head home to a former Playboy model girlfriend after doing so.

And the action just kept on coming, some of it to the chagrin of the Rays. Replay showed second base umpire Mike Winters missed Red Sox pinch runner Quintin Berry getting caught attempting to steal second base in the eighth inning, an opportunity on which the Red Sox failed to capitalize.

Even in the bottom of the eighth inning, when the Rays took a 4-3 lead, the run was scored in one of baseball's 6,957 peculiar ways. A leadoff walk to James Loney. A bunt up the first base line by Desmond Jennings, no one covering first for the Red Sox.

Another ball that failed to leave the infield, this one a grounder by Yunel Escobar that was smothered almost exactly behind second base by second baseman Dustin Pedroia and shortstop Stephen Drew.

All of it leading to Young, a hot hitter of late, kept on the bench for the game by manager Joe Maddon in favor of Matt Joyce. Young didn't hit a homer, or even hit it particularly hard, but yet another grounder, this one to first baseman Mike Napoli, scored pinch-runner Sam Fuld with the biggest run of the season.

Or so everyone thought. It wasn't the biggest, not after Boston tied the game in the top of the ninth on Pedroia's RBI grounder off closer Fernando Rodney.

The biggest was left to Lobaton, hitting in the bottom of the ninth, and not just against anyone.

Uehara had allowed just one earned run over his final 37 appearances of the regular season. In Boston's Game 2 victory he had recorded the save, striking out two Rays in a 1-2-3 performance.

Which made Lobaton's walk-off all the more remarkable. He hit just .184 in September. But at exactly 10:29 Monday night, no one cared a bit.

It's still just one victory, and tonight, they need right-hander Jeremy Hellickson to somehow leave his 5.17 ERA behind in the Rays' clubhouse.

Only four teams in ALDS history have come back to win a series after falling behind 0-2.

For the Rays to become the fifth, they had to have this one. For a while, it looked improbable, then possible, then it happened.

<p><em>ST. PETERSBURG</em> - Evan Longoria provided the Rays a pulse in their ALDS against the Red Sox.</p><p>But it was Jose Lobaton who gave Tampa Bay the most important gift of all.</p><p>Life.</p><p>And so Tropicana Field won't be dark tonight. More than 33,000 once again will pack the place, screaming and yelling and screaming some more, exhorting on their Rays as they attempt to drag this series back to Boston.</p><p>It was a stomach-jumping, breath-halting four hours, 19 minutes of baseball that showed our National Pastime, when played as it was played Monday night, takes a back seat to no other. And it was in that 259th minute that Lobaton cracked a two-out Koji Uehara offering into the right-field stands for a Rays' come-from behind 5-4 victory.</p><p>“We never give up,'' Lobaton said.</p><p>Life.</p><p>“That ranks right up there,'' said Rays manager Joe Maddon. “Really an incredible day for the Rays.''</p><p>Where to start? Anywhere would be fine. A 3-0 Red Sox lead became 3-3 on Longoria's three-run fifth-inning homer, the Rays' third baseman becoming just the second player in major-league history to hit a postseason home run on his birthday, and no doubt the first to head home to a former Playboy model girlfriend after doing so.</p><p>And the action just kept on coming, some of it to the chagrin of the Rays. Replay showed second base umpire Mike Winters missed Red Sox pinch runner Quintin Berry getting caught attempting to steal second base in the eighth inning, an opportunity on which the Red Sox failed to capitalize.</p><p>If you're keeping track at home of late, that's Blown Ump Calls 2, Rays 0.</p><p>Instant replay, can you please be born, like, instantly?</p><p>Even in the bottom of the eighth inning, when the Rays took a 4-3 lead, the run was scored in one of baseball's 6,957 peculiar ways. A leadoff walk to James Loney. A bunt up the first base line by Desmond Jennings, no one covering first for the Red Sox.</p><p>Another ball that failed to leave the infield, this one a grounder by Yunel Escobar that was smothered almost exactly behind second base by second baseman Dustin Pedroia and shortstop Stephen Drew.</p><p>All of it leading to Young, a hot hitter of late, kept on the bench for the game by manager Joe Maddon in favor of Matt Joyce. Young didn't hit a homer, or even hit it particularly hard, but yet another grounder, this one to first baseman Mike Napoli, scored pinch-runner Sam Fuld with the biggest run of the season.</p><p>Or so everyone thought. It wasn't the biggest, not after Boston tied the game in the top of the ninth on Pedroia's RBI grounder off closer Fernando Rodney.</p><p>The biggest was left to Lobaton, hitting in the bottom of the ninth, and not just against anyone.</p><p>Uehara had allowed just one earned run over his final 37 appearances of the regular season. In Boston's Game 2 victory he had recorded the save, striking out two Rays in a 1-2-3 performance.</p><p>Which made Lobaton's walk-off all the more remarkable. He hit just .184 in September. But at exactly 10:29 Monday night, no one cared a bit.</p><p>It's still just one victory, and tonight, they need right-hander Jeremy Hellickson to somehow leave his 5.17 ERA behind in the Rays' clubhouse.</p><p>Only four teams in ALDS history have come back to win a series after falling behind 0-2.</p><p>For the Rays to become the fifth, they had to have this one. For a while, it looked improbable, then possible, then it happened.</p><p>Life.</p>